Midterm Madness!

We're a little more than halfway through the semester and I am relieved.

Again, this semester has had its fair share of peaks and valleys, but I am surviving. That is where the difficulty lies in these semesters. Sometimes, they feel long and frustrating--while other times they fly by and you don't even know what hit you.

Midterms have come and gone here at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and I am feeling good about myself. I have not missed many classes, though my goal of perfect attendance for the semester is unreachable now, I'm not hurt by the handful of classes I have missed.

CLASSES I LIKE

JRNL 311: Reporting & News Writing with William (Bill) Recktenwald

• This has been my absolute favorite class, so far. Mr. Recktenwald is a Chicagoland native who wrote for the Chicago Tribune in his heyday, and his experience in the newsroom is one of the reasons I like that class so much. Someone that can teach to you from experience is more valuable than anything a book can tell you. I could honestly gush over this class for days, but won't. Bill is the type of teacher (and this is the type of class) that helps me enjoy my journalism major.

JRNL 332: Journalism in Law with Professor Hlavich

• My "Journalism Law" class was one of those classes that worried me as the school year started, mostly because of my fear of the legal system. But Professor Hlavich does so much so her students understand what is going on, and it really makes the class interesting too. I've been quite successful in that class, which surprises me to be honest. It's educational and informative...AND can be applied to stuff I will need in the future.

CLASSES I DON'T LIKE

ZOOL 115: General Biology with Prof. Nsofor

• I'd like to preface this by saying I hate science. Not as much as I hate math, but I hate science nonetheless. I'm not fond of the lecture in this class, though I'm doing very well in my lab section. But the lecture is quite unbearable. Nsofor's lectures are long winded, making paying attention difficult. Having the notes online is great, however, there is no substitute for a teacher that is well spoken and can simplify science for non-science people like myself.

JRNL 335: Graphic Communication with Tommy Xie

• I am finding this to be the most difficult of my journalism classes, mostly because in this class I am unable to use my writing abilities to save my grade. The focus of this class is design--and that is not my strength. Everyone knows I can be sloppy and the fact I have no graphic design experience is of no help. I don't mind the lab with Heather Lose, who really simplifies things to the point where an idiot like me can make sense of the InDesign program. But Tommy, our lecturer, isn't on my happy side. Mostly because of the difficulty of the questions on his test and his lecturing abilities. He's not terrible, but he's not great either.

ENGL 382B: Creative Writng: Inter. Poetry with Alberta Skaggs

• Shocked? So am I. Everyone knows how much I love poetry, and that if not for poetry I'd likely be in an isolated mental state. My two poetry classes last year help me vent about my sophomore and junior year's at SIU in the best way possible. So maybe it's because I'm not the motivated mind I was last year (albeit motivation due to frustration.) Maybe because I've resolved some (but unfortunately, not all) of my issues that go back to sophomore and junior year. Maybe it's that prolonged writer's block that has been going on since June. Or maybe it's the fact that my teacher really ahsn't done anything to motivate me. In any case, I'm not happy with my poetry class (for several reasons.) I'm not motivated, the class is unorganized, it's taught by a teacher who had never taught a poetry class before....among other reasons. Still, the poetry is coming (though not at the pace it did last year.)

LET'S TAKE A TIME MACHINE, SHALL WE?

Now that I've got "Midterm Madness" off my brain, I decided I'd take a look back at what I was writing about this time last year and lo and behold we've got ourselves something that is worth a damn. As of now it's 11:56 p.m. on 10/17/07, and on this date last year I wrote this blog found at my old site.

In summary, I took a look back at a blog from 11/15/06 in which I referenced a conversation I had with my (now former) roommate. I referenced that note only because of what happened only hours before that post.

The Chicago Bears beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23 on Monday Night Football behind three turnovers that turned into touchdowns and a game-winning punt return by Devin Hester. That game would go on to be known as "The Monday Night Miracle" and afterwards came my response:

"2007 JUST MIGHT BE THE YEAR! Maybe then MAYBE this can be my year too."

The next night, I would write about my epiphany. Unfortunately, that World Series Championship never came to fruition. Though technically I never said World Series--I said "championship." Damn! I should have been more specific!

So anyway, the point of that whole mini-rant was to prove how much I have changed. Even though those two posts aren't the biggest pieces of supporting evidence, there has been a significant change in my life.

No longer am I the bitter, frustrated young man that some people loved (while others hated.) No longer am I throwing my computer chair around my room in disgust. No longer amI beating my bed senseless with a baseball bat (mostly because I don't have my bat anymore, but that's besides the point.)

The point is that I feel like I'm moving forward in my life. And I'll be honest, sometimes I back-track. Sometimes I'll get into a state of mind where I'll just sit lonely and thing about "what could have been" or "what should have been." Sometimes I fall into the traps that got me down in the first place.

But then I'll have a happy moment, and all is right with the world.

IT DOESN'T GET EASIER

In closing, I'd like to take a short look at what I have ahead of me. (Hint: it's not gonna be pretty.) In order to graduate in Fall 2008, I'm gonna have to pull off the following miracle: 18 credit hours next semester, and 17 the semester after that.

The reason I have to do this is because of my sophomore year, which I consider the worst year in my life. It was the most tumultuous year, and what I mean by that is that I went through a period in which anything bad that could happen to me, did happen.

I honestly have difficulties finding silver linings in what happened that year. Not saying that there weren't any (because I can think of one in particular), but I say that because the bad outweighed the good--and it was a major setback.

Now I can take a look back at that and say that for the most part, I've moved on. And on graduation day I will be able to say, I survived SIU despite that. And if there is one thing I have learned from the 2007 Chicago Cubs (yay! baseball reference!) is that if you can make it through the rough times, you'll be stronger in the end because of it.

Good night folks, and sweet dreams.

Finished @ 12:13 a.m.

Setting Some Goals For This Semester

NOTE: This is part three of my three blog series. Parts one and two discussed my first three days of school. Tonight, part three reveals some goals I have for this semester.

My, how time flies. Now that I think of it, I can't believe I'm in my fourth year here at SIU. It seems as if it was just yesterday that Carbondale was like a foreign land to me. Full of people with strange accents and a special breed of people who claimed to be part of something called "Cardinal Nation."

All jokes aside, Carbondale is now a second home to me and those people with strange accents hold a special place in my heart (lol.)

It's still a bit mind boggling how so much has changed since 2004. And I'm still here in Carbondale.

Heck, it's mind boggling to think how much things have changed from last year to this.

I just wanna go on record, saying the following:

• I am a changed man from last year. I feel as if I have matured and grown from last year and I feel good about it. I believe that my mind and my heart is in a better place than it was last year. I've put a lot of my own issues behind me in an effort to move forward with my life. And as of now, I am 100% happier than I was a year ago. A happy Lu benefits everyone, not just myself. It benefits everyone around me as well.

Now, since that is out of my system I can go on and reveal some of my goals for this semester. My goals are as follows:

1. Let's start with the education part, seeing that education is my top priority (not named Chicago Cubs baseball) as of right now. My first goal is to not miss any classes. It's easy to skip class when you don't want to go, or when the weather is bad, etc. But last year proved to me that my grades were better in classes I attended every day. Perfect attendance would be the first step in a successful semester.
2. Another goal I have which pertains to my education has to do with my poems. I'd like to write less depressing poetry. And really, I wouldn't call my poetry "depressing." I had a lot of bottled up emotions last year and poetry was the best way of expressing myself. With that said, I'd like to expand my poetic horizons. I have a laundry list of topics (most of which aren't depressing) that I wasn't able to write about this summer due to my bout with writer's block. I've got my first poem coming soon here to this blog, so stay tuned.
3. Something I don't want to do is drink away my semester. I've been down that road, and in retrospect it wasn't worth it. It felt worth it at the time, but I've just come to realize that I missed out on so much by being hung up on certain issues. Those days are (hopefully) behind me.
   
4. I'd like to keep my priorities in line. I've had issues in the past few years when it comes to prioritizing. This year, I'm making a promise to myself to keep my priorities in check and keeping what is most important to me in focus. Prioritizing correctly could be another key to having a successful semester.
5. As of now, I am still jobless and as long as that continues, one of my priorities must be budgeting. I want to be able to run on a tighter budget. Really, what I would like to do is a better job of budgeting my money until I get a job or until winter break when I (hopefully) get my job back at Z-Frank Chevrolet. I don't need to be spending my money carelessly, whether it be on partying or on unnecessary items.
6. Ooh, here's an obvious goal GET A JOB!
7. On to non-educational goals. I'd like to make Friday cleaning days and Saturday mornings laundry days. I want to do a better job of keeping my room manageable and keep my laundry (somewhat) in check.
   
8. I want to eat healthier and smarter. As my grandmother would say "No te llenes tus ojos ante de la barriga." Something like that loosely translates into don't eat more than your stomach can handle. On top of that I want to drink more water and apple juice cuz that stuff is healthy for me. Oh and late night junk meals are no good for me, seeing that just helps me gain weight. As I say that now, I'm super hungry!

Wow, I think that's it (for now.) Thanks for reading my blogs. I guess another one of my goals should have been to be a better blog writer. Oh well, there's always next semester.

Hopefully I'll be able to succeed at all of my goals this semester. In the end, it's all up to me....and I don't think I'd rather have it any other way.

The First Day Of School: Part Two

NOTE: This is part two of a three part blog. Part one discussed my first day of school. Part two discusses days two and three. Part three, I will divulge my goals for this semester (among other things.)

As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." After the first day of classes, I was a nervous wreck, to say the least. I thought everything would be impossible and had no idea how I was going to get through this week, let alone this semester.

Thankfully, there are 15 weeks in a semester!

However, the best thing to happen was the sun rising the next day. Day two of classes wasn't as intense as the first day. Big difference between four consecutive classes between 10 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. and two classes from 10 a.m. 'til 11:50 p.m.

I had my third journalism class, this one (JRNL 311- News Writing & Reporting) looks like it will be my favorite of the journalism classes. This one is taught by Bill Recktenwald, former reporter and writer for the Chicago Tribune. Looks like I'll get a lot of writing done in this class, which bodes well for me.

Prof. Recktenwald also introduced me to the NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists) and the wonders of that organization. I'd like to join and probably will within a few days. He told me they are having a big event in Chicago this July, which is almost like a job fair. That could be the first big step towards a productive future.

I'm not necessarily excited about my ZOOL 115 class. I'm not a big fan of science, but the class doesn't seem too off-the-wall difficult. I'd be happy with a grade of C in this class.

All in all, today I'm feeling a lot better than I did on Monday. I feel more relaxed and a bit more confident about what I can do this semester. I just need to stay focused and keep my priorities in check, and I think the rest will just fall into place.

COMING TOMORROW: I will set my goals for this semester. Things I want to do, how I'll prioritize, etc. I'm looking forward to what could/should be a very productive semester.

The First Day Of School: Part One

NOTE: This is part one of a three-part blog series. Today, I talk about August 20, 2007--the first day of school.

I've been doing this going on four years, you would think I'd be ready for it. But for the first time, I felt as if I was unprepared for the first day of school. It was a strange feeling to say the least. I just felt as if I was not ready (mentally) for school to start.

This weekend didn't help much either. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Friday night was a waste, thanks to Lt. Dan's Legs a.k.a. the worst cover band in the history of Pinch Penny Pub. They had me wishing I was back in Wrigleyville, especially after paying a $4 cover.

LTDL was a band of white guys, a hot white girl (that couldn't sing) and a token black guy (whose lone highlight was his rendition of The Way You Move by Outkast's Big Boi.) Even with that highlight, it couldn't overshadow him being unable to hit the JT high note on My Love, practically ruining the night before it even started. Saturday's Cubs victory over the Cards was the highlight of a day I spent mostly in bed.

The weekend came and went, but I still felt as if I could use another few days for rest and preparation, instead the show must go on.

And it did.

I had four classes today and was on campus from 10 a.m. 'til nearly 3 p.m., and I was definitely not prepared to do that. I did most of it on an empty stomach (something I will try to avoid) because I'd love to avoid eating junk food and McDonald's (save the grilled chicken sandwiches) at all costs.

At the end of the day, I felt like I usually do after the first day: overwhelmed. Call it the first day jitters, but during each class I thought to myself the following:

• I can't believe I'm in this class
  
• How am I gonna escape with at least a C in this class
• This is going to be impossible. I can't do this. I'm over my head.

But as Jay-Z says, "Difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week." But that's how I always feel after the first day of class, it's inexplicable really. I just feel overwhelmed...and to think, I still have 4 more days of classes this week...and then 14 more weeks of class. If you think about that all at once, you can't help but to feel the gloom and doom.

But that's why I've decided to follow the cliche "take things one day at a time." It keeps me focused on short term goals, while keeping in line with my long term aspirations.

Overall, I can't complain about my first day of classes. My JRNL 335 (Graphic Communications) class seems interesting, potentially giving me a different point of view of my potential career in journalism. It helps knowing a few of my classmates from previous encounters. It also helps knowing my teacher is a Cubs fan (lol).

My poetry class worries me a little bit. I know you're thinking, "poetry shouldn't give you any issues" but as of now, I'm a bit worried. My concerns are as follows:

• What will the writing guidelines be.
• How will I be critiqued by a class of 10 students?
• How will the class be carried out in comparison to my previous poetry classes?
• How does the "new & improved Lu" top the poetry from the last two semesters?
• When will my writer's block end?

I guess those questions will have to answer themselves eventually.

My JRNL 332 (Journalism Law) class worries me the most. It seems as if that class has the heaviest work load, and case law can be difficult (from what I remember from high school.) I've heard great things about the class, but as much as I value a great learning experience I'd like to graduate within a year and a half (or so.)

That's it for now, good night from Carbondale.

Coming tomorrow: Part two covers the second day of classes.
Coming Wednesday: Goals for this semester.